February 28, 2007

Tainted peanut butter recalled

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry has issued a directive to recall two brands of peanut butter allegedly contaminated by the salmonella bacteria that can cause food poisoning and fever.
North American-based ConAgra Foods Inc – manufacturer of the brands Peter Pan and Great Values – had last week found that its products were tainted.
The two brands, with the code number 2111 on top of the jar, had been blamed for getting 329 people in the United States sick.
The ministry’s food safety and quality division director Dr Abd Rahim Mohamad confirmed the recall.
“We immediately alerted our offices in every state to be on the lookout after we received information about the recall.
“We also have health officers going around stores and shopping complexes to check whether the contaminated peanut butter is still being sold,” he said.
“If we find any of these products on the shelves we will confiscate them,” he added, advising consumers to alert the nearest health office if they noticed these products.
“Our men cannot be everywhere all the time but if we have the public notifying us about these contaminated products we can reduce the risk of people being infected,” said Dr Abd Rahim.
“Fortunately, salmonella normally does not pose a very serious health condition. It usually causes diarrhoea, mild fever and abdominal pains,” he said, adding that there had been no reported outbreak.
Meanwhile, retailers Jusco and Carrefour confirmed that they had recalled all the tainted products.
Jusco merchandiser for nutritious food Harfiza Harun said they completed the process by Feb 16.
“We are well informed of this matter and all tainted peanut butter have been withdrawn,” she said, adding that they had not received any complaint from customers about the tainted items.